WeWork India inks lease deals for 1.7 lakh sq ft in Mumbai

New York-headquartered collaborative workspace major WeWork’s India arm has picked up nearly 1.7 lakh sq ft office space on lease in two separate transactions in Mumbai’s Andheri and Vikhroli suburb, said three persons familiar with the development.

Out of total newly leased space, nearly 1 lakh sq ft is in Blackstone Group’s commercial complex 247 Park in Mumbai’s eastern suburb Vikhroli. The second deal has been concluded for 70,000 sq ft in an office building in the western suburb of Andheri.

This is in addition to the co-working space provider’s total leasing of 3.3 lakh sq ft space earlier this year in two deals in Mumbai and Bengaluru. For its first flagship co-working space, WeWork India had leased the 1.4-lakh sq ft building Embassy Galaxy on Residency Road in Bengaluru. It also leased Enam building, a 1.9-lakh sq ft standalone property owned by Enam Securities Group in Mumbai’s commercial business district Bandra Kurla Complex.

“Of the recently concluded two deals, WeWork will be paying monthly rent of Rs 92 per sq ft for space in 247 Park. Rentals for the Andheri office space is set at Rs 100 per sq ft,” said one of the persons mentioned above.

Both the lease agreements are for total 20 years with a clause of resetting rentals every three years.

Currently, WeWork India has total three 3 operational centres in the country including two in Bengaluru and one in BKC, Mumbai, with cumulative capacity of 6,000 desks as of now across these operational centres.

“We are continuously opening centres across the country and hence this will only continue to grow. We definitely see a lot of potential in each city, as we continue to open more centres in Bengaluru and Mumbai. We are also scheduled to open in Delhi early next year,” Virwani said in response to ET’s email query.

Email query to Blackstone Group and text message to Vinod Govani, developer of the Andheri office building, remained unanswered until the time of going to press, while transaction advisor JLL India declined to comment on the story.

Co-working or collaborative offices, a relatively new concept in India, involves various individuals, or start-ups, sharing a common workplace environment. It is steadily gaining momentum across prime Indian property markets due to relatively cheaper costs and flexibility. According to reports, co-working spaces witnessed nearly a million sq ft absorption last year across India.

Several benefits, including flexible working options at affordable rents, networking opportunities and shared amenities are seen prompting startups and smaller outfits to operate out of co-working set-ups. Lots of investments are being made into co-working space and several start-ups are looking to expand their alliance with builders to increase their presence.